Peak Re receives licence to set up a reinsurance subsidiary in Zurich

23 Dec 2016

Peak Reinsurance Company Ltd (“Peak Re” or “the Company”), the Hong Kong-based global top-50 reinsurer, is pleased to announce that the Company has been granted the approval by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to establish a subsidiary, Peak Reinsurance AG (“Peak Re AG”), based in Zurich which is licensed to accept reinsurance business from 1 January 2017.

Franz-Josef Hahn, Executive Chairman of Peak Re AG, said: “This is a major milestone for Peak Re, as Europe is an important market for us. In order to enhance our proximity and offerings to our European clients, we have started to expand our footprint in this market by setting up an office in Zurich in September 2015. With the new Peak Re AG, we further emphasize our commitment to our clients in Europe.”

Peak Re AG is dedicated to and will focus on providing speedy and attentive reinsurance solutions on a multi-line and long-term basis to clients in European markets. Mr. Jacques Burri, currently Head of Europe of Peak Re, will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Peak Re AG. Mr. Franz Josef Hahn, Chief Executive Officer of Peak Re will be the Executive Chairman of the new subsidiary. Ms. Cathy Chen, Chief Financial Officer of Peak Re will join the board as executive director, and Dr. Ulrich Fricker, until 2015 Chairman of the Board of Management of the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund, will become Peak Re AG’s independent non-executive director.

Jacques Burri, Chief Executive Officer of Peak Re AG, said: “We are very excited about the opportunities that a fully licensed Zurich based subsidiary will provide to Peak Re’s expansion in Europe. By combining our presence in Zurich with our Hong Kong-based operations, we are able to maintain a single underwriting platform, which will provide our clients with a service offering that is fully compliant with European regulation, while delivering Peak Re’s values of strong client focus and prompt claims settlement.”

Peak Re AG is capitalised on the basis of the Swiss Solvency Test and will show a 200% coverage ratio of the solvency requirement. Hence it will have full Solvency II equivalence. The capital and support of Peak Re AG comes from the parent company Peak Re in Hong Kong, which recently secured a US$ 100 million capital increase and whose shareholder funds stand at US$ 816.9 million.

Peak Re’s financial rating of “A-“ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-“, both recently affirmed by A.M. Best with stable outlook, are expected to remain unchanged.


About Peak Re

Peak Re is headquartered in Hong Kong with shareholder funds of US$816.9 million as of 31 August 2016. It is authorized by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Hong Kong and is rated “A-” by A.M. Best, a leading international insurance industry credit rating agency. The Company is backed by Fosun International Limited (HK.656) and the International Finance Corporation, member of the World Bank Group, who have respectively invested 86.93% and 13.07% in the Company. Peak Re offers reinsurance services covering a range of lines across Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas, tailor-making risk transfer and capital management solutions to best fit clients’ needs.

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